Birds  in  their  Relation  to 
Agriculture 

REMOTE  STORAGE 

The  Wealth  of  Montana 
as  Shown  by  Statistics 

BY  MORTON  J.  ELROD 
University  of  Montana 


Reprint  from  Second  Annual  Report,  Montana  State  Board  of  Farme 
Institutes,  pages  173-190  and  197-208,  with  8  plates. 


University  of  Montana,  Missouia,  Montana,  U.  S.  A. 
1904 


"INDEPENDENT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  HELENA,  MONTANA." 


OOMHALL 


THE  RELATION  OF  BIRDS  TO  AGRICULTURE. 

By  Morton  J.  Elrod,  University  of  Montana. 


Bird  protection  may  be  studied  from  two  standpoints,  the  sen¬ 
timental  and  the  economical.  We  have  little  to  do  with  the  former 
in  this  discussion,  although  there  is  much  to  be  said.  To  discuss 
the  use  of  birds  as  human  ornaments  is  a  subject  by  itself.  The 
small  boy,  and  sometimes  the  larger  one,  comes  in  for  his  share 
of  censure.  The  birds  have  a  right  to  live,  so  long  as  they  are 
not  a  menace  to  human  beings,  and  their  rights  are  respected  by 
fair  and  thoughtful  people. 

But  we  are  to  discuss  birds  from  the  economical  standpoint,  in 
dollars  and  cents.  This  may  for  convenience  be  divided  into  four 
heads:  i.  Birds  as  food  for  man  ;  2.  Birds  as  protection  from 
insect  ravages ;  3.  Birds  as  destroyers  of  weed  seeds ;  4.  Birds 
as  destroyers  of  noxious  birds  and  mammals.  Later  we  shall 
take  up  some  of  the  few  birds  that  do  injury  to  man  by  destroying 
his  crops,  his  fruit,  his  orchards,  or  his  poultry.  All  of  these  are 
overestimated  when  the  facts  are  considered. 

I  believe  it  is  Prof.  Forbes  who  says:  “It  is  hard  to  balance 
the  good  things  one  reads  about  an  animal  by  the  the  bad  things 
he  sees.”  The  few  observations  made  by  the  average  person 
weigh  heavier  than  all  his  reading.  He  sees  a  bird  destroy  a 
chicken,  or  eat  some  cherries,  or  pick  up  some  grain,  and  imme¬ 
diately  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the  bird  is  destructive  to  his 
interests  and  should  be  killed.  The  scientific  method  of  gather¬ 
ing  all  the  facts  obtainable  and  making  a  careful  examination  be¬ 
fore  coming  to  a  conclusion  is  the  theme  of  my  brief  discourse. 

Each  species  of  plant  and  animal  has  a  tendency  to  spread. 
It  is  provided  with  some  means  for  distribution.  If  left  un¬ 
checked,  and  without  enemies,  it  will,  under  favorable  circum¬ 
stances,  cover  the  entire  earth.  Many  species  of  both  plants 
and  animals  have  a  very  wide  distribution,  and  the  territory  cov¬ 
ered  by  them  is  constantly  becoming  wider.  This  tendency  to 
migrate  has  given  to  different  localities  their  present  faunas  and 
floras.  To  make  a  study  of  geographical  distribution  of  plants 

0 15/20 

r 


— 4— 


is  an  absorbing  theme,  and  one  that  has  been  of  great  service  to 
the  naturalist  as  well  as  the  farmer  and  fruit  grower. 

To  elaborate  the  idea  advanced  a  few  illustrations  may  be 
made.  Let  us  first  take  the  English  Sparrow.  This  is  the 
common  sparrow  of  England,  which  at  home  is  not  a  nuisance 
nor  a  disturbing  element.  It  was  introduced  into  America  in 
1850  at  Brooklyn.  The  first  introduction  was  a  failure.  Later, 
in  1853,  it  was  again  introduced,  a  large  lot  being  liberated  in 
Greenwood  Cemetery,  New  York.  Successive  importations  were 
made  during  the  next  twenty  years.  It  has  no  enemies,  and 
found  an  abundance  of  food  in  the  city.  From  that  introduc¬ 
tion  the  species  has  spread  until  at  the  present  time  it  has  covered 
almost  the  entire  United  States.  It  has  been  persecuted,  boun¬ 
ties  have  been  laid  by  legislatures,  war  has  waged  against  it  on 
every  side,  and  still  it  thrives.  At  the  present  time  it  is  even  in 
the  mountain  state  of  Montana.  From  the  east  it  has  come  by 
the  railways,  those  great  high-ways  of  commerce,  as  far  as  Great 
Falls.  At  Culbertson  it  is  abundant,  less  so  at  each  town  west¬ 
ward,  until  at  Great  Falls  a  small  colony  became  a  fixture  less 
than  two  years  ago.  By  the  Northern  Pacific  it  has  come  from 
the  east  along  most  of  the  road  in  Montana.  From  the  south 
it  has  come  to  Butte,  Anaconda  and  Helena.  It  has  not  reached 
Missoula,  but  will  no  doubt  be  seen  there  before  long.  I  well 
remember  how  a  few  years  ago,  I  think  it  was  in  1899,  the  late  C. 
A.  Wiley,  of  Miles  City,  bemoaned  its  arrival  that  year  in  Miles 
City. 

Another  illustration  is  the  Gypsy  moth.  Some  years  ago  an 
eastern  entomologist  received  some  eggs  of  this  moth  from  Eng¬ 
land,  for  the  purpose  of  experimentation.  The  eggs  came  in  a 
paper,  which  was  opened  in  the  study.  A  gust  of  wind  scat¬ 
tered  the  eggs,  most  of  which  were  gathered  up.  Twenty  years 
afterward  there  was  an  outbreak  of  the  moth.  The  state  of 
Massachusetts  has  spent  nearly  two  millions  of  dollars  in  at¬ 
tempts  to  hold  the  pest  in  check,  and  it  will  take  millions  yet  be¬ 
fore  they  are  through  with  it. 

Then  we  may  note  the  San  Jose  scale.  This  was  first  dis¬ 
covered  near  San  Jose,  California,  in  1880.  Hence  its  name. 
Until  recently  its  nativity  was  not  known.  It  is  now  believed  to 
have  come  from  China.  This  scale  attacks  the  bark  and  stem 
of  young  trees,  covers  the  twigs,  leaves,  and  even  the  fruit,  in 
such  great  numbers  that  the  tree  may  be  destroyed.  It  is  one 


— 5- 


of  the  worst  pests  for  the  orchard.  It  was  next  seen  along  the 
Atlantic  coast,  and  has  spread  over  the  entire  United  States.  At 
present  it  is  not  in  the  orchards  of  the  State,  although  it  has 
been  taken  on  fruit  shipped  into  the  state. 

We  might  mention  the  Russian  thistle  in  America,  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  mongoose  into  Jamaica  for  the  purpose  of  destroy¬ 
ing  the  mice  in  the  cane  fields,  and  dozens  of  other  illustrations. 
But  it  would  require  too  much  time,  although  it  would  make 
interesting  reading. 

Of  all  the  progeny  of  plants  or  animals  but  few  survive.  An 
adult  lobster  may  deposit  a  hundred  thousand  eggs.  Yet  no 
more  than  a  score  are  likely  to  reach  maturity.  The  eggs  of  a 
tape  worm  stand  one  chance  in  a  million  of  reaching  a  suitable 
place  for  development.  If  a  single  bacterium  should  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  multiply  and  the  progeny  supplied  with  food  and  mois¬ 
ture  suitable  for  development  more  than  seventeen  millions  would 
be  in  existence  by  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours.  If  a  single 
paramecium,  one  of  the  low  one  celled  animals,  should  be  given 
food  and  warmth  for  the  uninterrupted  development  of  the  off¬ 
spring  resulting  from  fission  the  number  resulting  in  thirty 
days  would  be  268,000,000.  If  the  young  of  a  single 
pair  of  robins  should  be  permitted  to  live  and  multiply  the  num¬ 
ber  of  robins  in  ten  years  from  this  pair  would  be  very  great. 

But  nature  seems  malevolent.  Of  all  the  great  number  that  is 
possible  but  few  develop.  There  is  a  constant  thinning  out  of 
numbers  by  enemies,  climatic  conditions,  lack  of  food,  and  so  on. 
The  fittest  survive.  It  is  give  and  take.  Some  cannot  endure 
the  struggle,  and  die  off.  Some  have  little  struggle,  and  be¬ 
come  very  abundant.  But  Nature  has  a  tendency  to  strike  a 
balance  at  last.  The  time  usually  comes  when  numbers  are  of 
no' avail,  and  by  their  very  numbers  the  race  is  imperiled.  The 
mongoose  was  finally  held  in  check  by  the  tick.  The  little  lady 
bird  beetle  bids  fair  to  hold  in  check  the  San  Jose  scale.  Bacteria 
are  usually  held  in  check  by  the  living  cells  of  the  body.  Few 
species  of  plants  or  animals  overrun  the  earth,  although  the  ten¬ 
dency  is  to  do  so.  But  the  time  necessary  to  find  a  remedy  for 
an  evil  such  as  has  been  mentioned  is  sometimes  very  great. 

Man  is  quite  likely,  through  ignorance,  to  overturn  the  balance 
wheel  of  nature,  so  to  speak,  and  send  the  whole  machinery  to 
smash.  This  is  the  case  in  the  introduction  of  species  of  animals 
and  plants  to  a  new  locality,  where  the  conditions  are  new,  and 


where  enemies  are  lacking.  It  therefore  behooves  us  to  look 
carefully  into  the  question  of  what  the  result  will  be  if  the  birds 
are  killed  off  in  large  numbers,  for  the  statistics  show  that  they 
are  going  very  fast.  The  study  of  game  birds  will  have  little  to 
do  with  this  question  as  it  is  presented  to  us  as  stated,  from  the 
fact  that  game  birds  are  very  few,  and  with  the  advent  of  man 
must  disappear.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  but  it  must  be  so.  The 
only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  use  our  best  efforts  to  keep  them  as 
long  as  we  can,  and  possibly  preserve  from  year  to  year  a  few 
remnants  of  a  fast  disappearing  group  of  birds.  The  grouse  fam¬ 
ily  is  the  great  family  of  game  birds.  In  some  places  the 
turtle  dove  is  shot  for  food,  and  in  others  meadow  larks,  bobo¬ 
links  or  rice  birds,  are  killed.  Our  present  laws  are  inadequate 
for  the  protection  of  these  birds.  A  man  may  kill  twenty  of 
each  species  each  day  during  the  season.  For  ducks  there  is 
no  limit  as  to  the  number  killed.  Since  the  last  game  law  has 
been  declared  unconstitutional  there  is  no  protection  for  ducks 
from  the  first  of  September  to  the  first  of  May. 

The  methods  employed  to  determine  whether  birds  are  useful 
or  harmful  as  insect  destroyers  or  as  seed  gatherers,  will  be  of 
interest  to  some.  The  fate  of  a  bird  is  a  very  important  item. 
If  it  is  charged  with  crimes  which  it  does  not  commit  we  cannot 
excuse  ourselves  for  the  crime  of  killing  it  off.  To  kill  off  a  bird 
without  trying  it  fairly  is  not  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  fair  play 
that  is  so  prominent  in  all  the  actions  of  the  American  people. 
How  shall  we  determine  whether  or  not  a  bird  is  our  friend 
or  our  enemy? 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  is  doing  much 
work  in  this  direction,  and  the  results  so  far  are  of  far  reaching 
importance.  The  study  necessarily  involves  the  killing  of  a  large 
number  of  birds.  But  this  killing  is  justified,  for  by  their  loss 
thousands  will  probably  be  saved  through  the  study  of  the  birds 
slain.  The  birds  of  a  given  species  are  taken  at  all  seasons  when 
they  are  to  be  had,  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  not  fair  to 
take  them  at  the  time  they  are  supposed  to  be  doing1  damage  and 
at  no  other.  The  good  must  be  balanced  against  the  evil.  Per¬ 
haps  hundreds  of  birds  will  thus  be  killed  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  The  stomach  of  each  is  removed  and  preserved.  Later 
the  contents  are  examined  by  specialists.  It  is  not  a  very 
pleasant  occupation  to  examine  the  contents  of  hundreds  of  birds, 
working  over  pieces  of  ants,  wings  of  beetles,  parts  of  spiders, 


Great-horned  Owl,  Bubo  virginianus  Gmel.  From  Biological  Survey. 


American  Goshawk,  Accipiter  atricapillus  Wilson.  From  Biological 
Survey. 


■7— 


half  digested  grain,  portions  ol  fruit,  and  the  like.  But  this  must 
be  done.  It  requires  no  small  amount  of  information  on  the  part 
of  the  examiner  to  do  this  intelligently,  and  the  work  is  neces¬ 
sarily  slow  and  expensive.  The  different  things  found  in  the 
stomachs  are  then  arranged  and  tabulated,  including  everything 
that  can  be  determined,  whether  beneficial  or  injurious  to  man. 
This  is  then  figured  in  per  cent  of  the  different  ingredients.  By 
this  means  the  food  of  the  bird  for  the  season  is  determined. 
Also,  if  there  is  a  difference  in  different  localities  it  is  deter¬ 
mined.  The  results  are  published,  and  are-  available  on  the  pari 
of  any  one  interested  so  long  as  they  may  last.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  for  the  person  interested  to  address  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Division  of  Biological  Survey,  Wash¬ 
ington,  D.  C.,  and  ask  for  literature  relative  to  beneficial  and 
injurious  birds.  In  this  manner  many  birds  have  already  been 
studied.  To  give  a  summary  of  the  work  would  be  unnecessarily 
tedious,  and  would  be  useless  since  it  is  available  in  printed 
form.  Appended  to  this  paper  will  be  found  a  list  of  papers, 
many  of  which  are  yet  obtainable,  which  relate  to  the  subject. 

Much  of  the  information  which  I  am  able  to  present  has  been 
gathered  from  the  sources  previously  mentioned.  Indeed,  if  I 
were  to  claim  originality  in  what  I  am  able  to  give,  I  would  be 
presumptuous.  Let  us  find  from  the  statistics  of  what  im¬ 
portance  the  study  is  financially. 

It  is  estimated  that  $200,000,000.00  are  lost  annually  to  the 
farmers  and  fruit  growers  of  the  United  States  through  the  rav¬ 
ages  of  insects.  This  is  one-tenth  of  our  total  agricultural  crop. 
To  lose  one  dollar  in  ten  is  a  heavy  toll  to  pay  the  insects.  This 
toll  is  especially  heavy  from  the  fact  that  it  usually  falls  on  some 
section  or  sections  of  the  country,  when  the  crop  for  over  a 
large  tract  may  be  completely  destroyed.  The  number  of  birds 
in  species  in  the  entire  North  America,  according  to  Ridgway,  is 
about  800.  There  are?  over  one  hundred  thousand  species  of  in¬ 
sects,  and  most  of  them  are  injurious.  The  injuries  come  from 
the  young  or  larval  insect,  either  through  destruction  of  the  foli¬ 
age  as  food,  or  by  sucking  the  life  out  of  the  plant  with  the  beak, 
or  by  penetrating  to  the  interior  of  the  leaf  or  stem,  there  eat¬ 
ing  the  vital  part  of  the  plant  as  food  or  making  a  cavity  for  the 
deposition  of  eggs. 

An  examination  of  the  statistics  show  that  birds  are  great 
destroyers  of  weed  seeds.  Most  weeds  produce  seeds  in  great 


— 8— 


abundance.  If  this  were  not  so  the  species  would  soon  become 
extinct.  I  have  watched  the  grosbeaks  every  winter  eating  the 
seeds  from  the  box-elder  trees  in  my  yard.  I  have  watched  the 
cedar  waxwings  strain  their  little  necks  to  reach  the  wild  rose 
apples.  What  a  beautiful  sight  it  is  to  see  the  male,  with  his 
dash  of  brilliant  scarlet  on  the  wing,  craning  his  neck  for  a  rose 
apple  scarcely  less  beautiful,  the  bush  swaying  back  and  forth 
with  the  weight  of  the  bird,  which  must  use  both  legs  and  wings 
to  keep  position.  I  have  watched  the  horned  larks  as  they 
sought  the  apparentlv  barren  plain  in  search  of  food,  sometimes 
going  in  flocks  of  hundreds.  I  have  killed  the  Rocky  mountain 
jay  when  his  cheeks  were  crammed  with  nuts  from  the  yellow 
pine,  which  he  was  evidently  storing  for  food.  Who  has  not 
seen  the  little  sparrows  on  the  almost  barren  ground  searching 
for  food.  During  the  migration  period  the  university  campus  at 
Missoula  is  alive  with  sparrows,  quietly  searching  the  weeds  for 
a  meal.  Prof.  Beall  has  estimated  that  the  tree  sparrow  alone 
in  the  United  States  destroys  annually  1,720,000  pounds  of  seeds 
of  noxious  weeds.  Every  person  should  recognize  the  sparrows. 
They  are  small,  usually  of  a  gray  or  slate  color,  with  short  and 
thick  bills.  The  bills  are  specially  adapted  to  cracking  seeds: 
These  birds  are  very  useful,  and  should  by  all  means  be  preserved. 
They  are  friends  to  the  farmer  and  fruit-grower,  and  should  re¬ 
ceive  his  protection. 

Birds  are  the  natural  enemies  of  insects.  In  the  woods  one 
may  find  the  little  warblers,  a  large  and  interesting  family  of 
birds.  These  are  built  on  a  different  plant  from  the  Fringillidae, 
or  seed  eaters.  The  Mniotilidae,  or  warblers,  are  small  and  trim 
little  fellows,  often  with  bright  and  even  gaudy  colors.  Their 
bills  are  small  and  slender,  specially  adapted  for  piercing  the 
body  of  an  insect  larva.  These  birds  may  easily  be  recognized, 
and  are  as  useful  as  Fringillidae  or  finches,  but  in  another  way. 
They  are  largely  migrants,  spending  the  summer  with  us,  when 
the  young  are  reared.  The  winter  months  are  spent  farther 
south,  whither  they  go  about  the  first  of  October.  Some  go 
much  earlier.  During  their  stay  with  us  they  are  engaged  in 
the  daily  occupation  of  gathering  food  and  rearing  their  young. 
The  food  consists  largely  of  insects,  which  they  seem  to  search 
constantly.  These  birds  no  doubt  destroy  insects  which,  with¬ 
out  the  birds,  would  perhaps  destroy  much  vegetation.  Since 
it  is  estimated  that  on  the  average  each  bird  in  the  country  de- 


— 9— 


stroys  as  many  as  2,400  insects  one  cannot  even  speculate  as  to 
the  number  of  insects  destroyed. 

Statistics  relative  to  the  increase  or  decrease  of  birds  in  the 
United  States  are  scarce  and  hard  to  secure.  A  few  years  ago 
G.  O.  Shields,  editor  of  Recreation,  secured  opinions  from  hun¬ 
dreds  of  persons  all  over  the  United  States  relative  to  the  num¬ 
ber  of  birds  at  that  time  compared  with  ten  years  previous.  The 
result  was  astounding.  The  opinion  prevailed  that  the  number 
of  birds  in  a  given  section  of  the  country  had  greatly  decreased 
during  the  decade.  In  many  cases  the  decrease  was  as  much 
as  fifty  per  cent.  While  the  statistics  are  only  opinions  based 
on  observations  by  careful  observers,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that 
birds  in  the  greater  portion  of  the  country  are  on  the  decrease, 
and  that  very  rapidly.  This  is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  for  with 
the  decrease  has  come  a  great  increase  in  insects,  which  have 
wrought  great  destruction.  What  are  the  causes  for  the  kill¬ 
ing  of  useful  birds? 

First  may  be  mentioned  the  elements.  Severe  winters  often 
destroy  birds  in  great  numbers,  especially  when  they  migrate 
early  and  are  then  overtaken  by  severe  storms,  when  food  can¬ 
not  be  obtained.  But  the  elements  are  insufficient  to  account 
for  the  great  mortality.  Their  natural  enemies  kill  a  large  num¬ 
ber.  These  enemies  are  snakes,  birds  of  prey,  weasels  and  other 
mammals.  Then  comes  the  domestic  cat.  In  thickly  populated 
districts  the  cat  is  abundant.  It  is  a  great  destroyer  of  birds, 
and  if  statistics  could  be  secured  it  would  be  responsible  for  a 
very  large  number  of  birds.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that 
the  cat  is  a  menace  in  many  localities,  and  should  be  killed  in 
large  numbers.  In  cities  the  cat,  the  English  sparrow,  and  the 
boy,  have  driven  the  birds  practically  from  the  region.  Then 
comes  the  great  enemy  of  the  birds,  often  unintentional  and 
without  giving  thought,  man.  The  desire  to  kill  is  inborn  in 
the  human  breast.  It  is  an  instinct  borne  of  a  distant  past, 
when  might  was  right.  A  boy  or  a  man  with  a  gun  must  shoot 
something.  A  stone  on  a  fence  post  is  not  half  so  tempting  for 
a  shot  as  a  woodpecker  or  a  meadow  lark.  The  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  bring  in  a  rabbit,  a  quail  or  a  pheasant  is  likely  to  re¬ 
sult  in  the  destruction  of  a  few  birds,  just  to  bring  down  some¬ 
thing.  The  small  boy  with  fire  arms  does  untold  destruction  to 
bird  life.  The  pump  gun  has  almost  destroyed  the  grouse  and 
duck,  and  if  the  automatic  gun  is  not  squelched  before  it  is  put 


■on  the  market  the  last  of  the  feathered  tribe  is  not  very  far  dis¬ 
tant  in  time.  Then  woe  to  the  farmer  and  horticulturist.  '  Laws 
are  not  sufficient  to  stop  the  destruction.  Public  sentiment 
must  be  aroused  to  the  great  value  of  our  feathered  friends, 
and  the  wanton  destruction  that  so  often  prevails.  In  the  east¬ 
ern  and  middle  states  severe  laws  are  now  in  force.  In  some 
cases  these  stringent  laws  came  late — too  late  to  be  of  best  help 
in  saving  the  birds.  But  even  with  stringent  laws  the  mortality 
continues  and  the  decrease  becomes  greater  with  each  decade. 

From  the  best  information  obtainable  it  appears  that  birds  arc 
on  the  increase  in  this  state.  This  is  to  be  expected.  The  state 
is  large  and  the  inhabitants  comparatively  few.  Large  tracts 
of  land  have  been  put  under  water  through  irrigation,  thus  mak¬ 
ing  food  more  abundant  and  making  it  possible  for  a  greater 
number  of  birds  to  live  than  formerly,  and  also  providing  food 
for  different  species  than  is  the  case  when  the  land  is  in  its  natural 
state.  All  the  old  timers  who  have  been  close  observers  seem 
to  think  that  birds  are  more  plentiful  than  formerly.  There  is 
still  much  land  in  the  state  to  be  brought  under  cultivation. 
Large  irrigation  schemes  are  under  construction  both  by  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  by  private  individuals.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of 
acres  now  growing  but  a  small  amount  of  grass  will  in  the  next 
one  or  two  decades  be  producing  crops,  and  furnishing  homes 
and  food  for  thousands  of  people.  With  this  influx  of  people 
and  accompanying  this  large  acreage  of  farming  must  come 
the  countless  hordes  of  insects  that  will  find  food  and  home. 
They  will  surely  come,  and  we  may  as  well  make  way  for  them 
and  prepare  for  them.  At  the  same  time  we  may  expect  a  large 
addition  to  our  avifauna.  With  the  disturbance  of  the  balance 
of  nature  on  so  large  a  scale  no  one  can  predict  which  will  be  the 
greater  in  relative  numbers.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
insects  will  be  the  first  to  arrive,  and  that  the  birds  will  be  slower. 
We  have  the  birds.  They  seem  to  be  on  the  increase  with  us. 
We  can  do  much  to  aid  in  their  propagation  by  making  the  con¬ 
ditions  favorable.  How  can  this  be  done? 

First,  by  executing  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  enforcing  them 
on  those  who  kill  birds  contrary  to  law.  The  game  warden  will 
furnish  copies  of  the  laws  to  all  who  may  make  inquiry,  so  there 
is  no  need  of  pleading  ignorance.  Second,  by  developing  a 
healthy  moral  sentiment  among  the  people,  and  especially  among 
the  youth  in  the  public  schools.  This  may  be  done  by  example, 


Types  of  finches,  or  seed  eating  birds.  The  upper  the  desert  song 
sparrow,  Mellospiza  fasciata  fallax  (Baird),  ihe  lower  is  Cassin’s  purple 
finch,  Carpodacus  cassini  Baird.  From  U.  P.  R.  R.  Survey. 


Meadow  Lark,  Sturnella  magna.  From  Ornithology  of  Illinois, 
western  lark  is  Sturnella  magna,  var.  neglecta. 


The 


— II — 


by  good  literature,  and  by  giving  information  relative  to  the 
habits  of  birds.  No  thinking  person  can  study  birds  without 
having  increased  love  and  sympathy  for  them.  Third,  by  pro¬ 
viding  suitable  places  for  them  to  use  as  nesting  sites  in  which 
to  build  and  rear  their  young.  This  may  seem  of  little  avail  where 
the  country  is  so  vast  and  the  population  so  scanty,  but  if  each 
one  does  his  best  the  result  must  be  to  help  m  the  increase. 
In  a  recent  trip  of  several  hundred  miles  but  one  bird  box  was 
observed,  and  that  was  placed  by  a  small  boy.  We  need  more 
such  boys,  and  more  such  nesting  places.  The  flycatchers  must 
seek  the  commutators  on  electric  light  poles,  or  the  eaves  of 
houses,  when  they  should  have  nice  boxes,  free  from  interrup¬ 
tion  and  safe  from  the  cat. 

The  work  of  the  farmer  and  the  fruit  grower  in  the  state  is 
but  in  its  infancy.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  million  fruit  trees  were 
planted  in  the  state  during  the  past  year.  When  all  the  orchards 
in  the  state  shall  be  bearing  what  a  harvest  it  will  be.  In  all 
portions  of  the  state  increased  acreage  is  made  in  wheat,  meadow, 
alfalfa,  barley,  and  other  grains  and  grasses.  We  have  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  the  past  and  of  the  eastern  states  for  our  heritage. 
We  have  the  birds,  and  we  know  their  value.  If  we  do  not  take 
advantage  of  the  conditions  the  fault  must  lie  with  us. 

What  is  the  number  of  birds  in  the  state  in  species?  When 
we  talk  of  the  different  species  we  mean  what  is  generally  referred 
to  by  the  word  kind.  All  the  birds  that  are  called  by  the  name 
great  horned  owl  are  of  one  species.  All  the  countless  English 
Sparrows  are  included  in  but  a  single  species,  Passer  domesticus. 
Observations  have  been  made  during  the  past  five  years  on  the 
birds  in  the  region  about  Flathead  lake.  This  is  a  good  field 
for  the  ornithologist  in  many  respects,  and  the  work  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  University  of  Montana  Biological  Station  is  the 
first  systematic  study  of  the  bird  fauna  of  the  state.  The  re¬ 
sults  obtained  through  the  dilligent  efforts  of  Prin.  P.  M.  Sillo- 
way  and  others  show  but  137  species,  including  all  species  of 
summer  residents,  summer  and  winter  residents,  spring  and 
fall  migrants.  This  is  not  a  large  number,  and  many  of  them 
have  but  a  few  scattered  specimens.  In  the  bulletin  “Birds  of 
Fergus  County,”  by  P.  M.  Silloway,  recently  issued  by  the 
school  board  of  the  Fergus  County  Free  High  School,  175  spe¬ 
cies  are  listed.  Fergus  county  is  about  as  large  as  the  state 
of  Massachusetts,  and  is  in  the  great  Misouri  river  highway,  up 


- 12 - 


which  so  many  birds  and  animals  have  come  from  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  river  and  the  Great  Plains.  Miles  City  shows  a  list  about 
as  large  as  that  from  Fergus  County.  The  entire  avifauna  of 
the  state  will  no  doubt  be  much  less  than  most  people  expect, 
and  certainly  will  not  exceed  a  few  hundred.  Of  this  number 
what  proportion  are  injurious? 

We  may  now  hastily  examine  the  records  relative  to  few  birds, 
some  of  which  are  on  the  doubtful  list,  others  clearly  proven  to 
be  injurious,  and  deserving  of  no  protection. 

Grave  charges  have  been  made  against  the  robin.  In  some 
localities  he  is  persecuted  during  the  cherry  season.  No  charge 
seems  to  be  made  against  him  at  other  times.  Let  us  examine 
the  charges,  and  see  if  they  are  well  founded.  The  robin  is 
one  of  the  earliest  harbingers  of  spring.  He  is  known  to  all, 
and  his  cheerful  song  in  the  early  morning  or  late  evening  as  he 
takes  his  position  on  the  cupola  of  a  building  or  on  the  top¬ 
most  bough  of  a  tree  has  been  the  theme  of  poets  for  years. 
After  their  arrival  in  spring  they  often  roost  in  large  numbers 
in  some  locality.  They  have  been  known  to  go  a  hundred 
miles  for  breakfast  ,and  arrive  at  the  feeding  ground  shortly 
after  sun  up.  In  the  evening  they  return  to  the  roost,  a  hun¬ 
dred  miles  on  the  return.  Thousands  will  congregate  in  these 
roosts.  Later  they  pair  off  and  the  pairs  seek  some  suitable 
place  in  which  to  build  a  nest  and  rear  the  young.  They  are 
principally  ground  feeders,  as  may  be  recognized  by  their  long 
and  stout  bills,  although  they  have  bills  much  smaller  than  the 
orioles,  which  are  typically  ground  feeders.  The  food  of  hte 
robin  consists  of  larval  insects,  worms,  beetles,  occasional  mol- 
lusks,  spiders,  insect  eggs,  and  fruit,  both  wild  and  tame.  Prof. 
Forbes  says:  “I  do  not  believe  that  the  horticulturist  can  sell 
his  small  fruits  anvwhere  in  the  ordinary  market  of  the  world 
at  so  high  a  price  as  to  the  robin,  provided  that  he  uses  proper 
diligence  that  the  little  huckster  does  not  overreach  him  in  the 
bargain.  In  other  words,  while  the  bird  is  far  too  valuable  to 
exterminate,  at  least  until  we  are  sure  we  can  replace  him  by 
some  cheaper  assistant,  yet  he  is  not  so  precious  that  we  need 
hesitate  to  protect  our  fruits  from  outrageous  injury.  Indeed 
it  seems  likely  that  the  ordinary  destruction  of  robins  by  gar¬ 
deners  does  not  more  than  compensate  for  the  destruction  of 
birds  of  prey  in  the  interests  of  the  poultry  yard- -removing  that 


-13- 


excess  of  robins  which,  in  the  more  natural  order,  would  fall 
victims  to  the  hawks  and  owls.” 

Mr.  W.  F.  King,  in  Vol.  I  of  the  Wisconsin  Geological  Survey 
says  of  the  robin  :  “In  its  method  of  obtaining  food  and  in  the 
situation  from  which  its  food  is  gleaned,  the  robin  performs  a 
very  important  work,  and  one  for  which  few  other  birds  are  so 
well  adapted.  So  important  is  this  work  that  the  quantity  of 
small  fruit  which  it  consumes  is  but  a  stingy  compensation  for 
the  service  which  it  renders,  and  I  know  of  no  bird  whose  greater 
abundance  is  likely  to  prove  of  more  service  to  the  country.” 
He  examined  thirty-seven  stomachs. 

Dr.  E.  V.  Wilcox  examined  187  stomachs  in  Illinois.  He 
says  in  his  summary,  “the  fruit-grower  should  at  least  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  kill  the  robin  during  the  season  when  he  is  most  harm¬ 
ful,  and  not,  as  at  present,  be  in  danger  of  arrest  and  fines  for 
shooting  the  robins  in  his  own  garden.’ 

Educational  leaflet  No.  4,  referred  to  in  the  bibliography,  says 
concerning  the  robin  ;  “That  the  robin  is  a  very  beneficial  bird 
there  is  no  doubt,  although  it  is  claimed  by  some  persons,  espe¬ 
cially  small  fruit  growers,  that  it  eats  cultivated  fruit  to  an  in¬ 
jurious  extent.  This  charge,  the  evidence  shows,  is  confined  to 
special  localities  and  to  a  very  limited  period  and  is  not  all  gen¬ 
eral.  The  horticulturist  can  protect  his  small  fruit  crops  by 
growing  a  few  wild  fruits  for  the  robins  and  the  cultivated  kinds 
will  not  be  disturbed;  but  thousands  of  injurious  insects  will 
be  eaten  that  would  otherwise  be  a  pest.  A  careful  study  of 
the  food  tables  abstracted  from  data  furnished  by  the  Bioligcal 
Survey,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  ought  surely 
to  convince  everyone  that  the  robin  is  a  very  valuable'  aid  to  the 
agriculturist  and  therefore  ought  to  be  carefully  protected.” 

Statistics  compiled  show  that  for  the  entire  year  the  food 
of  the  robin  was  as  follows :  insects,  sixty-five  per  cent,  culti¬ 
vated  fruits,  twenty-five  per  cent,  wild  fruits,  ten  per  cent. 
Of  the  insects  about  forty-five  per  cent  are  injurious,  thirty-five 
beneficial,  the  remainder  neutral.  There  are  no  statistics  on 
the  bird  from  Montana.  Until  we  make  a  study  of  it  we 
may  well  hold  judgment  in  abeyance,  since  our  wild  fruits  are 
so  abundant  and  so  luscious  for  birds. 

The  meadow  lark  is  with  us  the  first  harbinger  of  spring.  In 
most  states  the  bluebird  and  the  robin  are  first  looked  for  in 
the  days  when  winter  is  fast  disappearing,  but  in  western  Mon- 


-14- 


tana  the  call  of  the  meadow  lark  as  he  sits  on  the  top  of  a  tele¬ 
phone  pole  or  perches  on  a  rock  or  fence  is  the  first  indication 
that  warmer  days  are  coming.  The  meadow  lark  is  an  inter¬ 
esting  bird.  It  sings  from  the  time  it  first  comes  in  spring  until 
it  disappears  in  the  fall.  It  has  as  many  as  eight  different 
notes,  and  seems  to  take  delight  in  alternating  them  while  mak¬ 
ing  its  repertoire  of  music. 

The  meadow  lane  belongs  to  the  oriole  family.  Its  near 
relatives  are  the  blackbirds  and  orioles.  All  of  the  family  are 
ground  feeders.  They  are  provided  with  long  and  strong  bills, 
fitted  for  digging  in  the  ground,  and  for  pulling  worms  out  of 
the  earth.  The  meadow  lark  nests  on  the  ground,  seeking  some 
clump  of  bushes  on  the  dry  prairie,  and  there  rears  its  young.  It 
searches  the  vicinity  for  food  for  the  infant  larks.  In  meadows 
where  the  ground  is  under  cultivation  its  habits  are  the  same 
as  in  wild  nature,  save  that  it  adapts  itself  to  new  conditions. 

The  meadow  lark  is  one  of  the  most  useful  of  birds.  From 
the  fact  that  this  is  not  generally  appreciated  it  seems  fitting 
that  some  little  time  be  devoted  to  making  a  few  statements  in 
regard  to  its  usefulness  to  man. 

Practically  nothing  is  to  be  said  against  the  bird,  and  much  in 
its  favor.  It  is  a  great  insect  destroyer.  Its  choice  food  when 
it  is  to  be  had  is  the  grasshopper.  The  bird  is  probably  with¬ 
out  a  peer  as  an  insect  destroyer.  It  is  a  bird  of  good  size, 
and  hence  requires  a  large  amount  of  food,  and  is  a  diligent  col¬ 
lector.  An  interesting  article  on  the  meadow  lark  by  Prof. 
Beal  is  to  be  found  in  the  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agri¬ 
culture  for  1895.  In  this  Prof.  Beal  gives  the'  following  calcu¬ 
lation  in  regard  to  its  usefulness.  “Remains  of  as  many  as  54 
grasshoppers  have  been  found  in  a  single  meadow  lark’s  stomach 
but  this  is  much  above  the  average  number  usually  eaten  at  one 
time.  Such  food,  however,  is  digested  rapidly,  and  it  is  safe 
to  assume  that  at  least  50  grasshoppers  are  eaten  each  day, 
If  the  number  of  birds  breeding  in  one  square  mile  of  meadow 
land  is  estimated  at  five  pairs,  and  the  number  of  young  that 
reach  maturity  at  only  two  for  each  pair,  or  10  in  all,  there  will 
be  20  birds  on  a  square  mile  during  the  grasshopper  season. 
On  this  basis,  the  birds  would  destroy  30,000  grasshoppers  in 
one  month.  Assuming  that  each  grasshopper,  if  let  alone, 
would  have  lived  thirty  days,  the  thousand  grasshoppers  eaten 
by  the  larks  each  day  represent  a  saving  of  2.2  pounds  of  forage, 


/ 


Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker. 

I  2.  Mile  and  Female;  3.  Young. 


Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker,  Red-naped  Sapsucker,  Spyrapi 
From  Birds  of  Pennsylvania.  The  western  bird  is  var.  nuchal 


The  lead-colored  bush-tit,  Psaltriparus  plumbeus  Baird,  shown  by  the 
two  birds  and  the  figure  of  tail  feathers.  The  upper  heads  are  nut¬ 
hatches.  These  are  insect  eating  birds,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  long 
sharp  bills.  From  U.  P.  R.  R.  Survey. 


UNIVERSITY  o< 

—15— 

or  66  pounds  in  all  for  the  month.  If  the  value  of  this  forage 
is  estimated  at  $10.00  per  ton  which  is  below  the  average  price 
of  hay  in  the  eastern  markets,  the  value  of  the  crop  saved  by 
meadow  larks  on  a  township  of  36  square  miles  each  month 
during  the  grasshopper  season  would  be  about  $24.00.” 

More  than  half  of  the  food  of  the  meadow  lark  consists  of 
harmful  insects.  Its  vegetable  food  is  composed  of  noxious 
weed  seeds,  waste  grain,  with  some  useful  beetles,  neutral  in¬ 
sects  and  spiders.  Although  it  is  naturally  an  insect  eater  it 
*  can  subsist  on  vegetable  food  if  necessary,  and  as  a  consequence 
is  not  forced  to  migrate  during  cold  weather  any  further  than 
is  necessary  to  secure  food.  In  western  Montana  it  not  infre¬ 
quently  stays  around  barns  during  the  winter,  picking  up  re¬ 
fuse. 

As  stated  before,  the  meadow  lark  is  in  some  places  consid¬ 
ered  a  food  bird.  In  Montana  it  is  classed  with  the  song  birds, 
and  permanently  protected.  It  is  entitled  to  all  possible  pro¬ 
tection,  and  to  slaughter  it  for  game  is  a  poor  way  to  utilize  so 
useful  a  bird. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  short  space  assigned  to  me  to  speak  of 
many  birds.  There  is  one  bird,  however,  that  is  harmful  to 
the  orchardist,  which  must  not  be  overlooked.  I  refer  to  the 
rednaped  sapsucker,  Sphyrapicus  varius  nuchalis  Baird.  They 
do  damage  to  trees  by  drilling  holes  in  the  bark  of  apple,  thorn- 
apple  and  mountain  ash  trees,  sometimes  encircling  the  trees 
with  these  holes  for  a  distance  of  two  feet.  They  drink  the  sap 
of  the  apple  tree,  and  in  some  cases  kill  the  tree.  Insects  col¬ 
lect  about  the  punctures  of  the  tree  thus  made,  and  the  bird 
later  returns  and  makes  a  feast  from  the  insects.  The  number 
of  trees  killed  by  this  bird  is  not  great,  and  large  numbers  of  the 
insects  which  it  destroys  are  harmful.  It  is  therefore  an  open 
question  as  yet  whether  the  bird  should  be  killed  for  its  attack 
on  the  trees  or  let  live.  The  damage  reported  in  the  state  is 
»  slight. 

Lewis’s  woodpecker  is  the  black  bird,  with  a  reddish  breast 
and  flight  like  a  crow.  It  is  a  very  abundant  bird  in  the  wooded 
«  portion  of  the  western  part  of  the  state.  It  has  been  reported 
as  doing  damage  to  orchardists  by  pecking  the  apples  while  yet 
they  hang  to  the  tree,  and  thus  making  them  unsalable.  The 
amount  of  damage  is  not  great,  and  it  is  rather  surprising  that 
this  bird  should  take  to  eating  fruit.  As  all  the  woodpeckers- 


— 16 — 


are  insect  eaters  orchardists  should  be  very  slow  to  kill  the  birds 
because  of  a  little  damage.  The  damage  from  a  few  insects 
is  too  well  known  to  need  argument.  If  it  is  a  choice  between 
two  evils  the  lesser  is  likely  to  be  chosen.  The  orchardist  should 
examine  the  conditions  carefully  and  decide  for  himself.  If  the 
damage  is  great*  he  should  have  the  privilege  of  protecting  his 
fruit.  If  it  is  small,  he  should  be  slow  to  kill. 

Much  damage  is  attributed  to  the  hawks  and  owls,  which  are 
quite  plentiful,  especially  in  the  wooded  section.  How  much 
of  the  popular  belief  in  hawk  and  owl  mischief  is  true,  and  how 
much  is  false?  The  majority  of  the  hawks  and  owls,  as  of 
other  birds,  are  useful,  and  but  a  few  are  to  be  condemned.  The 
popular  belief  that  all  hawks  and  owls  should  be  shot  on  sight 
is  not  well  founded.  The  damage  done  by  hawks  and  owls  is 
by  carrying  off  poultry,  small  lambs  and  pigs.  Some  of  them 
are  very  destructive  to  small  birds  which  latter  may  be  very 
useful.  At  least  one  species  is  hard  on  the  grouse  family,  kill¬ 
ing  large  numbers  of  game  birds.  Their  benefit  comes  from 
their  carnivorous  habits.  Instead  of  preying  on  poultry  most 
of  the  species  live  on  mice,  gophers,  ground  squirrels,  moles, 
and  even  insects.  The  little  red  hawk  that  is  so  abundant  along 
the  roads  in  the  summer,  hanging  in  mid  air  at  times,  again 
roosting  on  a  post  or  rock,  is  a  great  enemy  to  the  grasshopper, 
killing  them  by  the  thousands.  So  great  is  its  capacity  for  the 
grasshopper  that  it  goes  by  the  name  of  grasshopper  sparrow. 
Early  in  the  spring  and  late  in  the  fall  it  is  severe  on  small  birds, 
but  its  benefit  far  outweighs  the  destruction  caused  in  killing 
birds. 

Our  largest  bird  is  the  great  horned  owl.  This  well  known 
bird  is  fierce  and  untamable,  and  in  strength  and  courage  is  in¬ 
ferior  to  none  of  our  rapacious  birds.  The  food  is  of  great 
variety.  It  catches  birds  and  mammals,  fishes,  crustaceans,  and 
insects.  Among  birds  it  takes  poultry,  including  half-grown 
turkeys,  grouse,  quail,  doves,  and  wild  ducks.  Hawks,  crows, 
and  other  fowls  do  not  escape  this  rapacious  bird,  and  large 
hawks  are  among  those  attacked  and  eaten.  Dr.  Fisher  re¬ 
marks  of  the  species :  “In  studying  this  owl  in  relation  to  its 
food  it  will  be  perceived  at  a  glance  that  a  bird  so  powerful  and 
voracious  may  at  times  be  a  source  of  great  benefit,  while  at 
other  times  it  may  be  the  cause  of  great  damage.  Now,  the 
serious  inroads  it  makes  on  the  tenants  of  the  poultry  yard,  as 


17- 


well  as  the  destruction  of  many  game  and  song  birds  would 
seem  to  call  for  the  total  suppression  of  the  species.  Again, 
when  engaged  chiefly  in  the  capture  of  injurious  rodents,  which 
threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  crops,  it  is  the  farmer’s  most 
valuable  ally,  and  consequently  should  be  most  carefully  pro¬ 
tected.”  The  rabbit  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  mammals 
most  frequently  eaten  by  this  bird.  It  is  said  to  be  fond  of 
spermophiles  or  ground-squirrels.  It  is  reputed  to  be  an  ex¬ 
pert  rat  catcher.  It  has  been  proven  to  eat  mice  and  shrews, 

►  muskrats,  woodchucks,  and  opossums.  On  one  occasion  a  por¬ 
cupine  was  attacked. 

The  bird  inhabits  wooded  regions,  where  it  finds  both  a  home 
and  an  abundance  of  food.  It  is  likely  that  in  newly  settled  re¬ 
gions  the  bird  may  prove  harmful,  but  as  it  disappears  with  the 
advance  of  agriculture  its  damage  will  not  be  for  long. 

Three  birds  may  be  mentioned  which  have  brought  the  hawks 
and  owls  into  disfavor.  The  sharp-shinned  hawk,  Accipiter 
velox,  Cooper’s  hawk,  Accipiter  cooperi,  and  the  goshawk,  Ac¬ 
cipiter  atricapillus.  The  first  two  are  much  alike  except  in  size. 
The  illustrations  accompanying  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the 
species,  although  it  is  to  be  regretted  they  are  not  in  colors. 
Velox  is  an  impudent  and  daring  little  bird  from  io  to  14  in¬ 
ches  in  length,  and  little  can  be  said  in  its  favor.  Its  food  is 
poultry  and  young  birds,  with  occasional  rodents.  Cooperi  is 
similar  in  appearance  but  larger,  being  from  14  to  20  inches 
long.  It  is  much  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  preceding,  as  it 
is  larger  and  stronger.  Its  food  is  about  the  same  as  that  of 
velox,  but  it  is  a  great  enemy  of  the  domestic  pigeon,  and  will 
stay  by  a  flock  until  it  cleans  them  out  or  meets  a  tragic  death. 
It  is  very  fond  of  meadow  larks,  robins  and  flickers.  One  bene¬ 
fit  derived  from  these  two  is  that  they  have  found  the  English 
sparrow  a  toothsome  morsel,  and  easily  obtainable,  and  have 
created  great  havoc  among  these  birds  in  the  eastern  states. 

*  The  goshawk  is  still  larger  than  either  of  the  two  just  men¬ 
tioned,  being  21  to  25  inches  in  length.  It  is  bluish  slate  color 
above,  top  of  head  deep  black,  tail  crossed  by  four  dusky  bands, 

*  white  below,  thickly  barred  with  narrow  zigzag  lines  of  grey, 
feathers  often  streaked  in  the  middle  with  dusky  color.  With  us  it 
is  found  usually  only  in  the  fall  and  winter,  moving  to  the 
northern  regions  in  the  spring.  It  is  especially  bad  on  the 
grouse  family,  and  is  very  destructive  to  poultry.  It  is  the 


-18- 


most  daring  of  all  birds,  and  many  almost  incredible  stories  are 
told  relative  to  its  boldness  and  daring.  It  will  dart  down  at 
the  feet  of  a  farmer  after  a  fowl,  and  even  followed  one  into  a 
house,  where  it  was  despatched  with  a  stick. 

The  flight  of  the  three  species,  as  well  as  their  general  habits, 
may  be  readily  studied  by  watching  any  one  of  them.  They 
fly  much  alike,  with  great  speed,  and  with  accuracy.  They  are 
trim  birds,  with  very  sharp  claws,  and  on  account  of  their  trim 
carriage,  swift  flight,  boldness  and  daring,  are  easily  recognized. 
They  should  be  shot  cn  sight.  But  it  is  well  to  make  no  mis¬ 
take  in  the  decision,  for  the  other  birds  except  those  mentioned 
are  very  useful. 

The  study  of  the  birds  will  prove  of  both  interest  and  profit 
to  those  who  may  be  persuaded  to  find  out  more  relative  to  our 
feathered  friends.  The  literature  suggested  will  be  both  in¬ 
teresting  and  profitable  to  the  farmer  and  fruit-grower.  At  a 
comparatively  small  expense  manuals  may  be  secured  which 
will  enable  the  student  to  identify  species.  The  subject  is  a 
big  one,  and  full  of  interest  and  importance.  It  is  but  touched 
in  this  hasty  sketch.  Some  of  the  literature  suggested  should 
be  secured  and  read. 

Partial  Bibliography. 

Preliminary  report  on  the  Food  of  Woodpeckers,  by  F.  E.  L. 
Beal.  Bui.  7,  Div.  of  Ornith.  and  Mam.  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agri. 
1895. 

Some  Common  Birds  in  their  Relation  to  Agriculture,  by  F.  E. 
L.  Beal.  Farmers’  Bulletin 'No.  54,  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agri.  1897, 
40  pp. 

Birds  as  Weed  Destroyers,  by  Sylvester  D.  Judd.  Yearbook 
U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agriculture,  1898,  pp.  219-232. 

Four  Common  Birds  of  the  Farm  and  Garden,  by  Sylvester  D. 
Judd.  Yearbook  of  the  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agriculture  for  1895, 
PP-  4<--5-4i8. 

The  Meadow  Lark  and  Baltimore  Oriole,  by  F.  E.  L.  Beal. 
Yearbook,  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agriculture,  pp.  419-430. 

The  Food  of  the  Robin,  by  E.  V.  Wilcox.  Ohio  Experiment 
Station,  Bui.  43,  pp.  115-132- 

The'  Food  of  the  Robin,  by  S.  A.  Forbes.  Bui.  Ill.  State  Lab. 
of  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  I.,  No.  3. 

The  Ornithological  Balance-wheel,  by  S.  A.  Forbes.  Trans. 
Ill.  State  Hort.  Soc.  for  1881,  printed  Feb.,  1882,  12  pp. 


i 


Cooper’s  Hawk,  Accipiter,  cooperi  (Bonaparte).  From  Biological 
Survey. 


— 19-- 


Binds  in  Horticulture,  by  Wm.  E.  Praeger.  Trans.  Ill.  State 
Hort.  Soc.  New  Ser.,  Vol.  XXXIII,  9  pp. 

The  Plawks  and  Owls  of  the  United  States  in  their  Relation 
to  Agriculture,  by  Dr.  A.  K.  Fisher.  Bui.  No.  3,  Div.  of  Ornith. 
and  Mam.,  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agri.  210  pages,  25  colored  plates. 
Out  of  print,  but  a  very  valuable  work. 

A  Review  of  the  Economic  Ornithology  of  the  United  States, 
by  T.  S.  Palmer.  Yearbook  of  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1899,  pp.  255-292,  with  several  plates. 

Legislation  for  the  Protection  of  Birds  other  than  Game  Birds, 
by  T.  S.  Palmer.  Bui.  No.  12,  Revised  edition,  Division  of 
Biological  Survey,  'Washington.  144  pages,  four  maps,  several 
illustrations. 

Report  of  the  Insect  Food  of  the  Crow,  by  E.  A.  Schwartz. 
Bui.  No.  6,  Div.  of  Ornith.  and  Mam.,  Washington,  pp.  57-68. 

Food  of  the  Bobolinks,  Blackbirds  and  Crackles,  by  F.  E.  L. 
Beal.  Bui.  No.  13,  Division  of  Biological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C.  78  pages  and  several  illustrations. 

The  Relation  of  Sparrows  to  Agriculture,  by  Sylvester  D. 
Judd.  Bui.  No.  15,  Division  of  Biological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C.  98  pages  with  several  figures  and  plates. 

Birds  of  a  Maryland  Farm,  a  Local  Study  of  Economic  Orni¬ 
thology,  by  Sylvester  D.  Judd.  Bui.  No.  17,  Division  of  Bio¬ 
logical  Survey.  116  pages,  17  plates  and  many  figures. 

The  Cowbirds,  by  Charles  Bendire.  From  the  Report  of  the 
United  States  National  Museum  for  1893,  pages  587-624,  with 
plates  1-3. 

The  English  Sparrow  in  North  America,  Especially  in  Its 
Relation  to  Agriculture,  by  Walter  B.  Barrows.  Bulletin  I,  Di¬ 
vision  of  Economic  Ornithology  and  Mammalogy,  U.  S.  Dept, 
of  Agri.,  Washington.  406  pages. 

Report  on  the  Bird  Migration  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  by  W. 
W.  Cooke.  Bui.  No.  2,  Div.  of  Economic  Ornith.,  U.  S.  Dept, 
of  Agri.,  Washington,  D.  C,  314  pages 

The  Birds  of  Wyoming,  by  Wilbur  C  Knight.  Bui.  No. 55, 
Wyoming  Ex.  Sta.,  Laramie,  Wyo.  174  pages,  many  plates. 

A  Partial  Bibliography  of  the  Economic  Relations  of  North 
American  Birds,  by  Clarence  M.  Weed.  Tech.  Bui.  No.  5,  New 
Hampshire,  Col.  Agri.  Ex.  Sta.,  Durham,  N.  H.,  pp.  137-180. 

Digest  of  Game  Laws  for  1901,  by  T.  S.  Palmer  and  H.  W. 


— 20- 


Olds.  Bui.  No.  16,  Div.  of  Biol.  Sud.,  U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agri.  152 
pages,  plates  and  maps. 

The  Food  of  the  Myrtle  Warbler,  by  Clarence  M.  Weed  and 
Ned  Dearborn.  Tec.  Bui.  No.  3,  New  Hampshire  Agri.  Ex. 
Sta.,  Durham,  N.  H.,  pp.  117-128. 

National  Committee  of  Audubon  Societies,  526  Manhattan 
Avenue,  New  York  City  Educational  leaflets,  each  four  pages, 
with  half  tone  illustration. 

No.  1.  The  Nighthawk,  Bull-Bat,  Mosquito  Hawk. 

No.  2.  The  Mourning  Dove. 

No.  3.  The  Meadowlark. 

No.  5.  The  Robin. 

No.  5.  The  Flicker. 

Birds  in  their  Relation  to  Man,  by  Clarence  M.  Weed  and  Ned 
Dearborn.  380  pp.,  many  plates  and  figures.  J.  B.  Lippincott 
Co.,  Philadelphio. 

Summer  Birds  of  Flathead  Lake,  by  Perley  Milton  Silloway. 
Bui.  Univ.  of  Mont.,  Biol.  Series  No.  1,  84  pp.,  plates  IV-XVI. 
Univ.  of  Mont.,  Missoula. 

Lectures  Delivered  at  the  University  of  Montana  Biological 
Station  at  Flathead  Lake  in  1902.  Bui.  Univ.  of  Mont.,  Biol. 
Series  No.  5,  pp.  191-288,  plates  XLVII-LII,  figs.  4-31.  Univ.  of 
Mont.,  Missoula.  (This  has  several  helpful  lectures  on  Birds.) 

Additional  notes  to  Summer  Birds  of  Flathead  Lake,  with 
special  reference  to  Swan  Lake,  by  Perley  Milton  Silloway. 
Bui.  Univ.  of  Mont.,  Biol.  Series  No.  6,  pp.  289-308,  plates  LIII- 
LVII.  Univ.  of  Mont.,  Missoula. 


— 21  — 


i 

THE  WEALTH  OF  MONTANA  AS  SHOWN 
BY  STATISTICS. 

By  Morton  J.  Elrod,  University  of  Montana. 


Topography.  The  state  has  within  its  borders  9,491,200  acres 
of  land.  Of  this  amount  about  26,000,000  acres  are  classed  as 
mountain  lands,  30,000,000  as  farming  lands,  and  38,000,000  as 
grazing  lands.  This  is  approximately  40,000  square  miles  of 
mountains,  50,000  square  miles  of  farming  lands,  and  56,000 
square  miles  of  grazing  country.'  The  mountain  area  of  the 
state  is  about  equal  to  the  area  of  either  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Vir¬ 
ginia,  Ohio,  or  Tennessee;  its  grazing  land  is  more  than  the 
area  of  either  Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Mississippi,  or  New  York; 
its  farming  land  is  as  much  as  the  area  of  either  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Illinois  or  Michigan.  The  mountain  area  is  largely  in  the  west¬ 
ern  part.  The  main  range  of  the  Rocky  mountains  enters  the 
state  about  a  hundred  miles  east  of  the  state  line,  and  extends 
across  the  state  from  northwest  to  southeast,  forming  the  bound¬ 
ary  line  between  Montana  and  Idaho  for  several  hundred  miles — 
from  1 14  meridian  to  the  Yellowstone  Park.  The  crest  of  the 
range  is  quite  tortuous,  and  contains  many  peaks.  West  of  the 
main  range  of  the  Rockies  are  several  smaller  ranges.  The 
Bitter  Root  mountains  form  a  large  part  of  the  boundary  between 
Montana  and  Idaho,  from  48  parallel  to  juncture  with  the  main 
range  of  the  Rockies.  The  northern  portion  of  the  state  west 
of  the  main  range  includes  the  Kootenais,  which  extend  north¬ 
ward  into  the  British  Possessions.  Between  the  Kootenais 
and  the  Bitter  Root  range  are  the  Cabinet  mountains,  extend¬ 
ing  approximately  southeast  and  northwest,  continuing  west¬ 
ward  into  Idaho.  They  form  the  western  boundary  of  the  Flat- 
head  Indian  reservation,  the  lower  summits  blending  with  the 
Mission  range  near  Misoula.  The  mission  range  extends  al¬ 
most  due  north  and  south  for  about  a  hundred  miles,  the  north¬ 
ern  end  beginning  in  the  valley  at  the  upper  end  of  Flathead  lake, 


22 — 


rising  higher  and  higher  toward  the  south,  culminating  in 
McDonald  Peak  (9,800  ft.)  Sinyaleamin  Peak  .9,500  ft.)  and 
McLeod  Peak  (9,000).  East  of  the  Mission  range  lies  the  Swan 
range,  extending  almost  parallel  with  the  former,  and  continuing 
some  30  or  40  miles  farther  north.  Like  the  Mission  mount¬ 
ains  the  Swan  range  is  highest  at  the  southern  end,  culminating 
in  Swan  Peak  (10,000).  East  of  the  main  range  are  many 
smaller  ranges,  foothills  leading  from  the  Great  Plains  to  the 
continental  divide,  with  its  high  and  snowy  peaks.  The  Big 
Belt  mountains  form  the  boundary  between  Meagher  county  on 
the  east  side  and  Broadwater  and  Lewis  and  Clarke  counties  on 
the  west.  The  range  extends  northwest  and  southeast  for  more 
than  a  hundred  miles.  In  the  southwest  angle  of  the  state,  ad¬ 
jacent  to  the  National  Park,  are  many  small  ranees,  including  the 
Ruby  mountains,  the  Tobacco-Root  range,  the  Snow-Crest  range, 
the  Madison  range,  the  South-Boulder  range,  the  Gallatin  range, 
Bridger  mountains,  and  Snow  mountains.  Near  the  Wyoming 
line  on  the  south  is  the  small  Bear-Tooth  range,  the  Pryor  mount¬ 
ains,  the  Rosebud  range,  with  a  high  plateau  in  the  southeast 
corner.  The  Little  Belt  mountains  form  a  large  portion  of  the 
boundary  between  Meagher  county  and  Fergus  and  Cascade 
counties.  Between  this  range  and  the  Big  Belts  lie  the  small 
Dry  Range  and  Elk  mountains,  while  the  Crazies  are  further  to 
the  southeast,  and  are  the  first  high  summits  to  greet  the  trav- 
lere  on  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  as  he  speeds  westward  be¬ 
tween  Big  Timber  and  Livingston. 

Fergus  county,  in  the  central  part  of  the  state,  is  about  as 
large  as  the  state  of  Masachusetts.  It  contains  the  Big  Snowy 
and  Little  Snowy  ranges  and  the  Moccasin  mountains.  North 
of  the  Missouri  river  the  state  is  largely  a  great  plain,  broken  by 
the  Bear  Paw  range,  culminating  in  Mt.  Garfield  (5,794  feet), 
and  the  Cherry-Patch  hills  at  the  northern  boundary.  The 
mountains  contain  many  high  peaks,  the  more  lofty  being  in  the 
Yellowstone  Park  region.  Much  of  the  mountainous  region  is 
yet  unexplored  save  by  the  hardy  trapper  and  prospector.  The 
transcontinental  railroads  give  the  traveller  a  poor  idea  of  the 
sublimity  of  the  scenery  which  the  many  mountain  ranges  afford,. 
Many  of  the  snow  clad  peaks  bear  on  their  sides  the  remnants 
of  glaciers,  with  miles  of  blue  ice  with  huge  crevasses,  where  the 
alpine  climber  may  find  untrodden  and  unnamed  fields,  where 
blue  lakes  reflect  tne  azure  depths  of  heaven,  and  where  the  bo- 


23— 


tanist,  the  zoologist,  the  geologist,  as  well  as  the  artist,  may  find 
a  virgin  field.  Many  of  the  peaks,  lakes,  glaciers  and  creeks 
are  unnamed.  Some  of  the  more  important  summits,  other  than 
thos  mentioned,  are  the  following.  Mt.  Powell,  Deer  Lodge 
County,  12,000;  Chief  Mountain,  10,000;  Mt.  L0L0,  Bitter  Root 
range,  9,500;  St.  Mary,  Bitter  Root  range,  9,500;  Electric  Peak, 
near  the  Park,  11,155;  G.  N.,  10,000;  Sheep  Mountain,  10,628; 
Ward,  10,267;  Pentagon,  9,400. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  state  lies  east  of  the  Rockies.  Most 

•  of  this  section  may  De  classed  with  the  Great  Plains  region,  tra¬ 
versed  as  it  is  by  the  mighty  Missouri  and  its  tributaries.  Part 
of  this  Great  Plains  portion  of  the  state  is  high  and  rolling, 
eminently  adapted  for  grazing;  but  a  large  portion  is  adapted  to 
farming,  when  irrigated,  and  will  supply  homes  and  farms  for 
thousands  of  families  in  the  years  to  come. 

River  Systems. — The  waters  from  the  mountains  of  Montana 
are  carried  by  different  river  systems  to  the  three  oceans,  the 
.Arctic,  the  Pacific,  and  the  Atlantic  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
In  the  western  part  the  Bitter  Root  river  gathers  the  waters 
from  the  snow  crests  of  the  Bitter  Root  range  and  from  the 
spurs  of  the  Rockies  and  unites  with  the  Missoula  near  the  city 
of  Missoula.  The  Missoula  river  through  its  various  tribu¬ 
taries  gathers  the  water  from  a  large  portion  of  the  western 
slope  of  the  main  range,  including  that  which  is  used  in  the  great 
smelters  of  Anaconda  and  which  comes  from  the  pumpings  of 
the  rich  mines  of  Butte.  Further  north  the  North  Fork,  Middle 
Fork,  and  South  Fork  of  Flathead  River  receive  the  drainage 
from  the  Mission  and  Swan  Ranges,  the  west  slope  of  the  main 
range,  and  a  part  of  the  Kootenais.  These  unite  to  form  the 
Flathead  river,  which  first  pours  its  waters  into  the  greatest 
reservoir  of  the  state,  Flathead  lake,  and  later  joins  the  Missoula 
in  the  beautiful  but  narrow  Paradise  valley  to  foryn  Clarke’s  Fork 
of  the  Columbia.  The  Kootenay  river  takes  the  drainage  from 
the  extreme  northwestern  corner,  a  part  of  the  Columbia  drain¬ 
age  system.  The  rivers  on  this  western  side  are  clear  and 
swift,  with  rocky  and  picturesque  canyons. 

*  The  Belly  and  St.  Mary’s  rivers  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
main  range  carry  the  ice  cold  water  from  the  glaciers  of  Chief 
mountain  and  the  region  adjacent  on  to  the  Arctic  ocean.  The 
sources  of  these  two  rivers  are  in  the  wildest  and  most  pic¬ 
turesque  portion  of  ihe  state.  If  the  plans  of  the  National  Gov- 


—24— 


ernment  are  executed  much  of  the  water  from  the  St.  Mary’s 
will  be  diverted  to  the  Milk  river  and  used  in  the  vast  system 
of  irrigation  under  contemplation.  Mt.  Stimpson  (10,000) 
claims  the  proud  distinction  of  sending  its  waters  to  three 
oceans. 

By  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  state  is  in  the  Missouri  river 
drainage  system.  The  Madison,  Gallatin  and  Jefferson  rivers 
gather  the  waters  from  the  many  small  ranges  adjacent  to  the 
Park  and  unite  at  Three  Forks  to  form  the  Missouri.  Near  the 
city  of  Great  Falls  are  the  Falls  of  the  Missouri,  from  which 
place  the  river  is  navigable  to  its  juncture  with  the  Mississippi. 
The  Yellowstone  river  rises  in  Yellowstone  lake  in  the  Park,  and 
after  taking  its  two  mighty  leaps  in  the  Park  and  flowing  through 
its  magnificent  gorge  it  emerges  as  a  restless  river,  continuing 
in  swift  descent  until  its  waters  merge  with  the  muddy  Missouri. 
The  Yellowstone  is  the  most  rapid  navigable  stream  in  the 
world.  From  the  north  the  Missouri  receives  the  waters  of  the 
Marias,  Teton,  Sun  and  Milk  rivers,  all  of  which  flow  through 
valleys  of  great  fertility.  The  scenery  along  the  rivers  is 
varied,  and  exhibits  some  striking  antitheses.  The  valley  of 
the  Bitter  Root  is  one  of  remarkable  beauty.  The  river  as  it 
winds  back  and  forth  like  a  stream  of  silver,  when  viewed  from 
Mt.  Lo  Lo,  Ward’s  Peak,  or  St.  Mary’s  in,  the  Bitter  Root  range 
is  probably  equalled  in  quiet  and  peaceful  grandeur  only  by  the 
Yellowstone  as  it  flows  through  Hayden  Valley  in  the  Park. 
The  three  branches  of  the  Flathead  present  to  the  few  travelers 
along  their  courses  many  gorges  and  canyons.  The  South 
Fork  in  one  place  in  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  Forest  Reserve  has 
cut  its  way  through  solid  rock,  making  a  canyon  so  narrow  that 
pack  horses  may  be  and  are  forced  to  leap  from  brink  to  brink, 
while  the  river  seethes  and  boils  many  feet  below,  its  ominous 
roar  announcing  certain  death  if  the  leap  is  short.  The  Missouri 
has  made  the  famous  “Gateway  of  the  Mountains,”  its  splendor 
first  told  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  later  made  famous  by  the 
brush  of  artists.  At  the  City  of  Great  Falls  it  hastens  its  speed 
before  tumbling  over  the  beautiful  Black  Eagle  Falls,  spanned 
by  a  bridge  on  the  Great  Northern  railway,  and  does  not  diminish 
its  speed  until  the  bottom  of  the  Great  Falls  is  reached. 

The  valleys  of  these  rivers  and  their  smaller  tributaries  make 
rich  farming  soil,  suitable  for  grain,  vegetables  and  fruit.  The 
Bitter  Root  valley  in  the  west  was  settled  first,  and  is  a  great 


— 25~ 


farming  and  fruit  raising  region.  The  country  adjacent  to  Flat- 
head  lake  is  thickly  settled,  and  produces  abundant  harvest  with¬ 
out  irrigation.  The  Gallatin  valley  has  become  famous  for  its 
bountiful  harvests,  and  the  Yellowstone  is  being  largely  used 
for  agriculture  and  fruit.  The  northern  tributaries  of  the  Mis¬ 
souri,  while  watering  very  fertile  valleys,  are  in  a  thinly  settled 
region. 

Climate  and  Rainfall. — The  climate  of  the  state  is  exceed¬ 
ingly  varied,  and  is  much  more  salubrious  than  is  generally  sup- 
«  posed.  West  of  the  range  the  winters  are  mild,  the  summers 
and  falls  delightful.  The  rainfall  at  Misoula  and  Kalispell 
averages  about  16  inches,  while  at  Culbertson  and  Glendive  in 
the  eastern  end  of  the  rainfall  is  about  13  inches.  Rain  or 
snow  prevails  during  the  spring  until  early  July.  July,  August 
and  September  are  largely  without  rain,  although  in  many  places 
there  is  no  need  of  irrigation.  Owing  to  the  different  altitudes 
snow  may  fall  later  in  the  spring  at  some  places  than  at  others. 
An  area  of  30,700  square  miles  is  below  3,000  feet  elevation  above 
the  sea;  this  is  equivalent  to  a  state  the  size  of  Georgia.  About 
10,200  square  miles  exceed  8,000  feet  altitude.  The  climate  on 
the  Pacific  slope  is  milder  and  less  changeable  than  that  of  the 
Atlantic  side.  The  majority  of  the  areas  of  high  barometer, 
and  accompanying  cold,  originate  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  are 
deflected  southward  or  eastward  by  the  Rocky  mountains.  While 
eastern  Montana  and  the  Dakotas  may  be  in  the  throes  of  a 
blizzard,  the  western  end  may  be  enjoying  balmy  weather.  The 
coldest  record  at  Missoula  for  21  years  is  — 22  degrees  F,  while 
in  some  winters  the  thermometer  does  not  go  below  the  zero 
point.  The  mean  temperature  at  Missoula  is  44  degrees  F. 
At  Helena,  altitude  4,500,  the  mean  temperature  is  341. 
Chinook  winds  may  occur  over  the  entire  state,  melt¬ 
ing  large  quantities  of  snow  in  a  short  period  of  time. 
Owing  to  the  usual  absence  of  a  high  percentage  of  humidity 
I  the  cold  weather  is  not  extremely  disagreeable,  nor  the  warm 
days  smotheringly  oppressive.  The  hot  days  may  blister  the 
the  skin,  while  the  nights  following  will  be  cold  enough  to  require 
►  blankets.  Rarely  does  one  sleep  without  considerable  covering, 
and  some  people  wear  the  same  clothing  summer  and  winter, 
donning  extra  coats  or  wraps  in  winter.  This  may  be  given 
as  the  general  summary:  the  springs  are  rainy;  the  summers 
are  clear  and  dry;  the  autumns  are  delightful;  the  winters  are 


— 26 — 


clear  and  bracing.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  high  humidity  the 
climate  is  very  beneficial  to  health,  as  statistics  will  show.  It 
is  especially  beneficial  to  those  affected  with  pulmonary  diseases. 

Agriculture  and  Husbandry. — In  the  early  days  of  Montana’s 
history  it  was  not  thought  possible  to  grow  crops  in  the  state  to 
much  extent.  Nearly  everything  was  shipped  in  from  the  out¬ 
side.  As  the  mines  developed  the  demand  for  food  became  so  > 
great  as  to  stimulate  agriculture.  Fruit  raising  was  also  at¬ 
tempted.  Marked  success  attended  the  efforts,  and  larger  acre¬ 
age  of  grain  and  orchards  was  put  out  annually,  until  agricul¬ 
ture  and  husbandry  have  developed  into  important  economical 
features  in  the  state’s  progres,  and  bid  fair  to  rank  close  to  the 
mineral  wealth  in  the  near  future.  In  1902  nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  million  fruit  trees  were  set  out ;  the  number  was  almost 
doubled  the  succeeding  year.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1903, 
nearly  one  and  a  half  million  fruit  trees  had  been  set  out  in 
various  parts  of  the  state.  The  harvest  in  ?hat  year  was  a 
quarter  of  a  million  bushels  of  apples.  The  trees  in  the  or¬ 
chards  include  apples,  cherries,  plums,  apricots,  and  peaches. 

Small  fruit,  such  as  gooseberries,  strawberries,  blackberries,  cur- 
anls,  and  the  like,  produce  enormous  crops  from  small  acreage, 
while  to  describe  the  size  and  weight  of  the  fruit  is  almost  be¬ 
yond  belief.  Apples  are  shipped  to  the  eastern  states  and  even 
to  England.  As  they  are  remarkably  free  from  insect  pests, 
owing  to  stringent  legislation  and  watchful  care  in  orchard  in¬ 
spection,  home  grown  apples  are  constantly  in  demand,  the  de¬ 
mand  being. far  in  excess  of  the  supply.  As  a  small  part  of  the 
total  number  of  trees  bears  fruit  at  the  beginning  of  1904,  the 
insufficient  supply  is  accounted  for,  but  the  crop  of  the  orchards 
will  increase  in  amount  very  rapidly.  The  Bitter  Root  valley, 
in  the  western  part  of  the  state  on  the  Pacific  slope,  is  the  oldest 
orchard  section,  and  is  fast  becoming  famous  as  a  fruit  growing 
valley.  But  the  orchards  are  not  confined  to  this  beautiful  and 
fertile  valley.  The  valley  to  the  north  of  Flathead  lake  is  filled  * 
with  orchards  already  breaking  beneath  their  loads  of  fruit.  The 
Yellowstone  valley  is  developing  rapidly  as  a  fruit  growing-re¬ 
gion,  even  growing  grapes.  The  most  recent  observations  show  * 
that  fruit  trees  may  be  grown  and  that  apples  will  mature  in 
every  portion  of  the  state,  and  apples  are  now  grown  in  every 
county  in  the  state  with  but  a  few  exceptions.  Horticulturists 
insist  that  fruit  trees  may  be  grown  in  every  county  in  the  state. 


Since  the  portion  of  the  state  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  is 
much  greater  than  that  on  the  west  the  fruit  growing  possibili¬ 
ties  of  the  state  may  be  readily  understood  when  it  is  known 
that  the  great  majority  of  the  fruit  trees  of  the  state  are  on  the 
Pacific  side. 

The  total  value  of  farm  property  in  1900  was  $117,859,823.00, 
an  increase  of  143. 1  per  cent  in  ten  years;  that  of  farms,  includ¬ 
ing  farm  improvements,  and  buildings,  $36,513,750.00,  an  increase 
of  143. 1  per  cent  in  ten  years;  that  of  implements  and  machinery, 
$2,315,890.00,  or  170.8  per  cent;  and  that  of  live  stock,  $30,541,- 
146.00,  or  141.3  per  cent  increase.  The  value  of  farm  products 
for  1889  exceeds  that  reported  for  1899  by  $22,343,542.00,  or  356.2 
per  cent  increase.  Of  the  total  land  area  of  the  state  11,844,454 
acres,  or  12.7,  per  cent,  were  included  in  farms  in  1900.  The 
average  size  of  the  farms  was  885.9  acres,  of  which  14.7  per 
cent  was  improved  land.  The  total  number  of  farms  was  13,370, 
an  increase  of  nearly  250  per  cent  in  the  decade.  The  total  acre¬ 
age  in  farms  in  1900  was  almost  85  times  that  reported  in  1870. 
Eastern  Montana  contains  more  than  three-fifths  of  the  total  area 
of  the  state.  In  the  extreme  eastern  part  lies  the  “Bad  Lands,” 
a  continuation  of  the  “Bad  Lands”  of  the  Dakotas,  Wyoming 
and  Nebraska,  parctically  non-irrigable  because  of  its  uneven 
surface.  The  Yellowstone  valley  has  become  famous  for  its 
growth  of  alfalfa,  where  two  or  three  cuttings,  a  total  of  4  to  6 
tons  per  acre,  are  had.  The  Gallatin,  Madison  and  Jefferson 
valleys  in  the  southeast  produce  rich  harvests  of  cereals,  never 
failing  through  irrigation.  In  the  west  the  Bitter  Root,  Mis¬ 
soula  and  Flathead  valleys,  while  less  extensive,  produce  as 
abundant  harvests,  often  without  irrigation.  The  lands  are  of 
three  general  classes — the  bottom  lands,  near  the  streams,  with 
rich,  black,  alluvial  soil;  the  bench  lands,  whose  soil  is  a  sandy 
loam,  capable  of  wide  range  of  cultivation ;  and  the  high  bluffs, 
suitable  largely  for  grazing.  Experiments  in  “dry  land  farm¬ 
ing,”  farming  on  the  uplands  without  irrigation,  in  1903  indicate 
that  good  crops  may  be  grown  in  this  way,  and  the  method  is 
encouraged  by  the  Experiment  Station.  90.8  per  cent  of  the 
farms  are  operated  by  the  owners  thereof.  The  entire  Crow 
Indian  reservation  is  included  in  the  statistics  as  one  farm,  thus 
making  the  average  size  quite  large.  Nearly  three  hundred 
farms  were  operated  by  the  Indians,  twentysix  by  Chinese  and 
twenty-one  by  negroes.  This  was  about  0.4  per  cent  of  the  total 


— 28- 


farm  acreage.  The  government  plans  for  irrigation  will  re¬ 
claim  large  tracts  of  land  and  put  it  under  cultivation.  The 
crops  raised  are  corn  (75,838  bushels)  ;  wheat  (1,899,638  bush¬ 
els)  ;  oats  (4,746,231  bushels)  ;  barley  (844,140  bushels)  ;  rye 
(32,120  bushels)  ;  hay  and  forage  (1,059,361  tons)  ;  dry  peas 
(32,265  bushels);  potatoes  (1,332,062  bushels  in  1899);  other 
crops  in  small  quantity,  making  a  total  valuation  of  $1,692,515. 
During  the  past  few  years,  many  small  fruit  and  truck  farms 
have  been  started,  promising  greater  returns  per  acre  and  greater 
variety  of  farm  products,  as  ready  market  awaits  all  kinds 
of  farm  produce. 

Montana  leads  the  Union  in  the  number  of  sheep,  there  being 
more  than  five  million  in  1902.  The  sheep  industry  has  proven 
profitable  in  the  eastern  portion  where  there  is  much  open  range. 
Few  herds  are  to  be  found  west  of  the  range.  The  fleeces 
weighed  thirty-five  and  a  half  million  pounds,  valued  at  over 
six  million  dollars.  In  1902  there  were  three-quarters  of  a  mil¬ 
lion  of  cattle  and  one-fifth  of  a  million  of  horses,  the  assessed 
valuation  of  the  former  being  $3,121,000.00,  and  of  the  latter 
$3,900,000.00. 

Timber  and  Lumber. — 29  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  state 
is  covered  with  timber,  which  is  8  per  cent  less  than  for  the  av¬ 
erage  of  the  entire  United  States.  The  timber  growth  is  largely 
of  coniferous  trees,  yellow  pine,  tamarack,  and  Douglas  spruce 
comprising  the  most  of  the  commercial  products.  Along  the 
streams  occur  forests  of  cottonwood.  In  the  drier  portions  of 
the  state  stunted  red  cedars  often  grow  along  the  smaller  water 
courses,  of  great  value  to  settlers,  as  they  supply  posts  and 
wood.  Forests  of  white  cedar,  or  arbor-vitae,  white  pine  and 
Engelmann’s  spruce  occur  in  the  western  part.  On  the  higher 
slopes  and  summits  the  alpine  species  thrive ;  but  as  they  are 
limbed  to  the  base  of  the  tree  and  inaccessible  they  are  not  of 
value  commercially.  They  are  useful  in  preventing  the  rapid 
melting  of  snow  in  the  spring,  holding  it  until  later  in  the  sea¬ 
son  when  it  is  needed  in  irrigation.  A  considerable  portion  of 
the  state’s  timbered  area  is  included  in  government  forest  re¬ 
serves.  On  the  west  the  Bitter  Root  reserve  includes  a  portion 
of  the  Bitter  Root  range  within  the  state,  and  since  the  higher 
summits  are  not  in  the  water  shed  of  the  range,  but  far  to  the 
east  of  it,  the  reserve  includes  territory  from  which  comes  the 
water  to  irrigate  the  fertile  Bitter  Root  valley.  In  the  north  i« 


—29— 


the  Lewis  and  Clarke  reserve,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  origi¬ 
nal  Lewis  and  Clarke  reserve,  the  Flathead  reserve,  and  a  narrow 
strip  along  the  Great  Northern  Railway  which  was  originally 
not  included  in  either.  In  the  southeastern  part  is  the  Gallatin 
reserve.  In  1902,  the)  same  year  in  which  the  proclamation  was 
made  for  the  Gallatin  reserve,  proclamations  were  issued  setting 
aside  the  Little  Belt  Mountain  reserve,  the  Madison  and  the  Ab- 
saroka  reserves.  ine  area  embraced  in  each  is  as  follows : 

I.  Lewis  and  Clarke,  6,732  square  miles,  or  4,308,480  acres, 
not  including  the  narrow  strip  along  the  Great  Northern  rail¬ 
way.  2.  The  Bitter  Root,  6,480  square  miles,  450,000  acres  of 
which  are  in  Montana,  the  remainder  in  Idaho.  3.  The  Gal¬ 
latin,  63  square  miles,  or  40,320  acres.  4.  The  Little  Belt,  503,- 
040  acres,  including  the  town  of  Neihart  and  the  Yogo  sapphire 
mine.  5.  The  Madison,  800,000  acres.  6.  The  Absaroka, 
1,385,000  acres.  The  total  of  all  land  in  government  forest  re¬ 
serves  in  the  state  in  1902  was  7,487,400  acres,  nearly  11,700 
square  miles,  or  about  one-thirteenth  of  the  total  land  area  of  the 
state. 

The  total  output  of  the  lumber  mills  in  1902  was  210,047,000 
feet  of  rough  lumber,  5,500,000  shingles,  and  17,000,000  lath. 
The  United  States  Geological  Survey  in  1902  estimated  all  of  the 
merchantable  timber  on  all  of  the  reserves  in  the  state  at  14,- 
974,800,000  feet.  On  state  land  there  was  estimated  to  be  912,- 
000,000  feet,  making  the  total  estimate  of  merchantable  timber 
on  state  or  government  land  15,886,800,000  feet.  This  estimate 
does  not  include  timber  in  the  Northern  Pacific  land  grant,  nor 
on  the  land  belonging  to  private  owners  and  milling  companies, 
At  the  present  rate  of  consumption  the  timber  on  state  and  gov¬ 
ernment  land  would  satisfy  the  mills  as  running  in  1902  for  about 
70  years. 

Mines  and  Mining. — Montana  has  been  known  principally  on 
acount  of  her  mines,  and  leads  in  the  production  of  copper  and 
in  the  output  of  sapphires.  The  early  history  of  the  states  is 
the  search  for  gold,  and  many  of  her  towns  and  cities  are  built 
i^>  gulches  where  placer  gold  was  mined.  Virginia  City  and 
Helena  are  illustrations,  the  former  being  the  oldest  mining  camp 
in  the  state.  Although  Butte  is  the  greatest  mining  camp  in 
the  state,  and,  indeed,  the  greatest  in  the  world,  it  is  by  no  means 
the  only  place  where  mining  is  carried  on.  In  1900  mining  for 
gold  and  silver  was  carried  on  in  the  following  counties:  Beaver- 


-30- 


head,  Broadwater,  Cascade,  Chouteau,  Custer,  Deer  Lodge,  Fei 
gus,  Flathead,  Granite,  Jefferson,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Madisoi 
Meagher,  Missoula,  Park,  Ravalli  and  Silver  Bow.  Lewis  an 
Clarke  was  the  greatest  producer,  with  70,000  fine  ounces  of  gol 
and  172,531  fine  ounces  of  silver.  The  total  product  of  gold  an 
silver  in  the  state  in  1900  was  229,114  ounces  of  the  former  an 
14,294,835  of  the  latter.  In  1901,  there  were  232,331  ounces  c 
gold  and  14,180,545  ounces  of  silver.  During  the  forty  year 
following  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  state  over  one  billion  dol 
lars  in  value  of  gold,  silver,  copper  and  lead  have  been  taken  fror 
the  streams  and  mountains  of  the  state.  While  Butte  is  th 
mining  camp  for  copper,  it  is  also  mined  in  the  counties  of  Bea 
erhead,  Granite,  Jefferson,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Madison  am 
Meagher.  Butte,  in  Silver  Bow  County,  produced  227,742,26 
pounds  of  the  total  of  228,031,503  pounds  from  the  state  in  1901 
Lead  was  produced  in  all  the  counties  mentioned  except  Madi 
son,  and  in  addition  also  in  Broadwaater,  Cascade  and  Flatheac 
The  total  lead  output  in  that  year  was  more  than  eleven  and 
half  million  pounds,  and  in  1902  it  was  nearly  sixteen  million. 

Montana  is  one  or  the  richest  coal  states  in  the  west,  although 
much  of  it  is  undeveloped.  Two  million  tons  were  mined  ii 
1902,  and  new  mines  are  being  opened  annually.  The  Creta 
ceous  bituminous  and  semi-bituminous  coal  areas  in  the  stat 
cover  about  13,000  square  miles,  and  the  lignite  area  about  25, 
000.  Not  all  of  this  territory  contains  coal,  of  course,  but  th' 
deposits  are  found  quite  abundantly  throughout  the  territory 
The  tests  show  the  bituminous  coal  to  be  but  little  inferior  t< 
Pennsylvania  bituminous  coals.  Bituminous  coal  or  lignite  ha 
been  found  in  every  county  of  the  state  except  Jefferson.  Th- 
undeveloped  coal  industry  will  without  doubt  be  a  prominen 
factor  in  the  future  expansion  of  other  industries  of  the  state 
In  addition  to  its  coal  the  state  has  extensive  beds  of  clay;  th' 
brick  and  clay  product  in  1902  amounted  to  a  half  million  dollars 
The  output  of  building  stone  was  about  the  same. 

Montana  leads  the  Union  in  the  production  of  sapphires,  th< 
actual  mining  of  which  began  in  1891.  Four  mining  regi^ 
may  be  mentioned  :  A  belt  12  miles  northeast  of  Helena  on  th' 
Misouri  river ;  the  Rock  creek  region  30  miles  west  of  Anaconda 
the  Cottonwood  creek  field  10  miles  east  of  Deer  Lodge,  and  th' 
Togo  mines  in  Fergus  county,  13  miles  west  of  Utica.  The  an 
nual  output  of  sapphires  in  the  state  in  1902  was  between  450.OCK 


—V— 

’and  500,000  karats,  including  those  suitable  for  cutting  and  those 
used  for  mechanical  purposes.  A  lapidary  at  Helena  employed 
15  men,  and  it  is  asserted  that  finer  work  is  done  there  than  on 
stones  sent  to  London. 

Manufactures. — The  predominating  industry  is  the  smelting 
of  ores.  The  largest  smelter  in  the  world,  the  Washoe,  is  lo¬ 
cated  at  Anaconda.  For  the  treatment  of  ores  water  is  brought 
from  a  lake  some  15  miles  away  in  the  mountains.  The  smelters 
of  Butte  have  long  been  known.  At  Helena  a  large  smelter  is 
in  operation,  and  another  at  Great  Falls,  where  water  power 
from  the  Missouri  river  is  used.  Many  flouring  mills  have  been 
established,  utilizing  almost  the  entire  crop  of  wheat  in  the  state, 
and  consuming  large  quantities  from  the  Dakotas.  The  large 
lumber  mills  at  Bonner,  Hamilton,  Somers,  and  other  places  have 
extensive  factories  in  connection  with  the  saw  mills.  They 
manufacture  doors,  sash,  blinds  and  other  finishing  stuffs.  They 
also  make  large  quantities  of  furniture  from  native  lumber.  A 
woolen  mill,  in  operation  in  Big  Timber,  established  in  1901, 
consumes  a  considerable  amount  of  the  wool  product.  Al¬ 
though  Montana  leads  all  other  states  in  the  number  of  sheep, 
the  loss  from  the  two  items  of  freight  eastward,  and  the  differ¬ 
ence  in  the  value  of  the  wool  in  the  grease  and  the  scoured  pro¬ 
duct,  will  annihilate  the  value  of  all  the  flocks  on  the  range  of 
the  state  in  10  years,  7  months  and  9  days,  if  the  wool  is  all 
shipped  to  the  east.  To  treat  it  in  the  state'  will  save  $1,000,000 
annually  to  the  state.  Nearly  every  large  town  has  a  factory 
for  malt  liquors.  Creameries  and  butter  factories  are  spring¬ 
ing  up.  The  transcontinental  railways  have  several  repair 
shops  and  round  houses  in  the  state.  A  biscuit  and  cracker 
factory  is  located1  at  Helena  and  does  a  large  business.  In  1900 
1,000  establisments,  representing  a  capital  of  $40,945,846,  were 
operating  in  manufactures  and  mechanical  industries.  The 
value  of  the  product,  $57,075,824,  involved  an  outlay  of  $837,971 
for  salaries  of  officials,  clerks,  etc.,  $7,969,886  for  wages,  $1,668,- 
487  for  miscellaneous  expense,  and  $31,702,650  for  materials, 
(►eight  and  fuel.  The  value  of  manufactured  products  in  ten 
years  from  1890  to  1900  increased  ten  fold,  or  more  than  1,000 
per  cent  and  more  than  thirty  times  the  value  in  1870. 

Railroads. — The  total  mileage  of  railroads  in  1902  was  3,- 
131.87  miles,  with  572.14  miles  of  side  track.  During  that  year 
and  the  year  preceding  199.5  miles  of  road  were  constructed,  not 


32 


including'  large  expenditures  for  betterment  of  track  on  exist¬ 
ing  road.  Two  transcontinental  lines  cross  the  state.  In  the 
north  is  the  Great  Northern,  with  its  many  branch  lines.  To¬ 
ward  the  southern  part  is  the  Northern  Pacific,  also  with  numer¬ 
ous  short  branch  lines  as  feeders.  The  Burlington  connects  with 
the  latter  at  Billings,  running  through  trains  over  the  N.  P. 
tracks  to  the  coast.  The  N.  P.  operates  three  daily  passenger 
trains  each  way  over  most  of  the  state— as  far  east  as  Billings, 
where  one  takes  the  Burlington  route  for  Denver,  Omaha  and  St. 
Louis.  The  Great  Northern  operates  two  daily  passenger  trains 
each  way  over  its  road.  The  Oregon  Short  Line  connects  at 
Butte,  making  a  gateway  to  Salt  Lake  and  the  south,  east  and 
west.  From  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other  on  the  Northern 
Pacific  requires  about  24  hours  of  travel,  following  for  consider¬ 
able  distances  the  Missoula,  Missouri,  Gallatin  and  Yellowstone 
rivers,  with  their  varied  scenery.  The  Great  Northern  skirts 
the  banks  of  the  Kootenay,  the  Flathead,  the  Milk,  and  the  Mis¬ 
souri  rivers,  and  gives  a  view  of  the  great  unoccupied  field  along 
the  two  latter. 

Finances.  The  total  assessed  valuation  of  all  property  in  the 
state  in  1902  was  $183,395,690.  The  constitution  of  the  state 
prohibits  an  indebtedness  exceeding  $100,000.  The  tax  rate 
was  less  than  $2.50  per  $1,000. 


rf  ^ 


